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Utah's Foremost Platform for Undergraduate Research Presentation
2018 Abstracts

The effect of monomeric, oligomeric and polymeric cocoa flavanols on β-cell proliferation

Matt Austin; Brooke Smyth; Lauren Manwaring; Moroni Lopez, Brigham Young University

Currently, an estimated 30.3 million Americans have diabetes, and experts predict 54.9 million Americans will have diabetes by 2030. The increasing prevalence of Type 2 diabetes (T2D) accounts for much of this expected growth. T2D is characterized by insulin resistance, which eventually leads to a reduction in functional β-cell mass. Thus, treatments that increase β-cell proliferation, survival, and function have the potential to reverse the effects of diabetes. One treatment that has shown promise is the use of dietary cocoa flavanols. These compounds have shown the ability to prevent the onset of diabetes in mice. Furthermore, a recent study conducted by our lab group demonstrated that monomeric cocoa flavanols improved insulin secretion by increasing mitochondrial respiration. In addition to stimulating insulin secretion, we hypothesize that cocoa flavanols may also confer anti-diabetic effects by promoting β-cell proliferation. To that end, we present data that shows the effect of monomeric, oligomeric, and polymeric cocoa flavanols on β-cell proliferation. Our results also suggest a mechanism by which these compounds stimulate proliferation in β-cells. These findings strengthen the growing body of evidence that dietary cocoa flavanols can ameliorate the effects of T2D.